On
Friday (March 1, 2019) I was delighted to be able to meet at a public library with a group of friends to
celebrate an ancient Romanian tradition, called 'Mărțișor'.
Before I will give you the usual, concise, update on how things went, I would like to briefly elaborate a bit on what “Mărțișor” really means. The name “Mărțișor” (mərt͡siˈʃor) is the diminutive of “Marț”, the old folk name for March (“martie”, in modern Romanian
language), and literally means "the
little March". On the other hand, the actual “Mărțișor” is made of
a small decorative object, tied to a white and red string, with two hanging tassels,
which is offered customarily on the 1st day of March to girls, women
& men (in some parts of the country)
as it is believed that the wearer will stay strong and healthy throughout the entire
year ahead. In the old times “Mărțișor”
was regarded more as a protective talisman, but in modern days, and especially in the urban areas, most of
its talisman properties got lost and “Mărțișor” became more a symbol of friendship, love, appreciation
and respect, as well as a symbol of the coming spring in addition to the snowdrop
flowers. (In the comments section I’m posting a more elaborated
description of the history & the legend of “Mărțișor”.)
For this very occasion (this evening's event being called "LEGENDA MARTISORULUI"), personally, I’ve crafted a number of “Mărțișoare” and I was truly happy
to be able to gift each of my guests with…each lady that night was glowing with
joy.
Our group this time was fairly large and we all were pleased to
have with us again two guests of honor – Dr. Ovidiu Grecea together with his
wife. Dr. Grecea is Consul General of Romania in Vancouver, Head of the Romanian
Diplomatic Mission here as well as Plenipotentiary Minister of Romania.
Dr. Grecea transmitted us all a beautiful message of peace,
highlighting again the importance of effective communication and productive
collaboration.
Additionally, Dr. Grecea brought us a number of special “Mărțișoare”
especially hand crafted by a group of young students from an elementary school
from Bucharest (Romania), accompanied
by a kind letter, initialised by all those children; personally, I found this
gesture truly heart touching!
Aside of that, two other guests (Maria & Dana) also brought “Mărțișoare” for each participant, creating even larger waves of joy
and excitement.
After all the gifts were distributed, we continued our program with
the cultural section, which was meant to focus on the legend of “Mărțișor” as well
as sharing regional customs inherited from our ancestors.
All the presenters that night (Dorina, Lidia,
Ileana, Ligia, Monica, Dana, Camelia, John and Teodor) highly spoke about this Romanian
tradition (called “Mărțișor”) ….different legends were re-iterated, poems were recited (some are published in the comments section
below) and fond memories were refreshed….facts that made each of us recall
the childhood times filled with such unforgettable fragrance…you know, those little
special memories, which last a lifetime!
The time we spent together flew by very, very fast and by the end of the night,
we all enjoyed a well garnished selection of light refreshments, which allowed
for prolonged socialization. Definitively, a beautiful evening filled with many special moments and for
these I’m sending along my sincere gratitude to each participant that night. Until next time, best wishes to all!
Alice
Mesaj primit înspre publicare din partea Domnului Dr. Ovidiu
Grecea* şi al Doamnei Liliana Grecea
Draga Alice, am ajuns cu bine acasă, parca mai
bogați sufletește și intelectual, mai bucuroși că am avut ocazia, privilegiul
și onoarea de a fi împreună cu niște oameni deosebiți, atât de erudiți, de
binevoitori și de înțelepți. Desigur că, un merit deosebit îl ai tu care prin
stăruința, tact, perseverență și gingășie ai reușit ca să aduni niște adevărate
repere ale românilor-canadieni din Vancouver. Fie ca acești primi pași în
prag de primăvară să aducă revigorarea adevăratei calități umane și de înaltă
ținută, de adevărata probitate profesională și morală, de reprezentativitate a
sevei sănătoase românești pe aceste meleaguri. Sperăm să auzim numai de bine și
să ne revedem sănătoși și voioși la alte asemenea întâmplări ale lui Alice cu
... comoara minunilor de caractere frumoase prin simplitatea lor și atât de
puternice, prin sensibilitatea sufletească pe care o împărtășesc cu o deosebită
generozitate.
Cu sentimente prietenești,
Liliana și Ovidiu Grecea
*Domnul Ovidiu Grecea este Consul General şi Ministru Plenipotenţiar al României la Vancouver
“Our culture, our traditions, our language make the foundation
upon
which we build our identity.“
This event has been delivered in Romanian Language, featuring Romanian culture.
● A previous card I've created referring to "Mărțișor" – 2019
● Fotogallery published on their website by the General Consulate of Romania in
Vancouver
● ARTICLE featuring
our event on March 1’19 offered by OBSERVATORUL (from Toronto)
